Maclura tricuspidata

Silkworm tree ( Maclura tricuspidata )

The silkworm tree ( Maclura tricuspidata ), also called Che, is a species of the genus Maclura in the family of the mulberry family ( Moraceae ).

Description

When silkworms tree is reached up to about 7 m to a deciduous shrub or small tree, the plant height of 1. The bark is grayish - brown. In particular, young plants and root bolters are spined, while the upper branches of older trees also grow thornless. The spines have a length of 0.5 to 2 cm. The buds are reddish - brown.

The leaves are petiolate 1 to 2 cm long. The leaf shape is variable, three-lobed in young plants, later also occur ungelappte, ovate leaves, similar to the related mulberries. The lamina has a size of 5 to 14 × 3 to 6 cm. The leaf margin is smooth. The stipules are not fused.

The flowering period is late, even by mulberry trees from May to June. The silkworm tree should be essentially dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( dioecious ), but also occur on female plants sporadically or at all branches male flowers, and vice versa. The inflorescences are solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils. The head- ingen, male inflorescences have a diameter of about 5 mm. In the male flowers the calyx lobes are fleshy and recurved. The female inflorescences have a diameter of about 1 to 1.5 mm.

There are orange-red to red - brown, more or less spherical, mulberry- like fruits ( botanically fruit bodies), which have a diameter of about 2.5 cm. They are edible, the taste is reminiscent of figs, mulberries and watermelons. The fruit ripens from June to July.

Dissemination

Maclura tricuspidata comes from the Chinese provinces of Anhui, Fujian, southeastern Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi Southern, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang, and from Nepal and Korea. In China Maclura tricuspidata thrives at altitudes 500-2200 m.

The silkworm tree can grow from the subtropics up in areas with USDA Hardiness Zone 5, but it may be that in cooler climates the fruits can not ripen.

Use, History

The ripe fruits are described in part as quite tasty, though they are barely mentioned in Chinese literature. A greater importance for the Chinese had the leaves as a substitute food for silkworms.

It was planted in 1862 in France, 1872 in England and arrived in 1909 by Ernest Henry Wilson as a clone from China to the United States.

1910 sent an envoy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Frank N. Meyer, 16 rooted cuttings from China to his home so that they would be tested as a hedge or fence survivor in drier areas.

From the branches of a yellow dye for textiles was recovered.

From the bark paper is made. The leaves serve as food for the silkworm ( hence the name). The bark is used medicinally.

Cultivated forms

In China, there will be selections, but even there yet this type does not play a major role in fruit assortment.